Shinzo Abe, former Japanese leader, is assassinated by gunman  —  Listen  —  Gift Article  —  TOKYO — Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, a towering political figure at home and abroad, died after being shot at a campaign event Friday, doctors said, shocking a nation where firearms laws …

Biden to sign abortion rights executive order amid pressure  —  President Joe Biden will sign an executive order Friday morning directing his health department to expand access to abortion pills, beef up enforcement of Obamacare's birth control coverage mandate and organize a cadre …

Ukraine Live Updates: Moscow Official Accuses West of ‘Blatant Russophobia’  —  Russia's foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, made the comment at a Group of 20 meeting in Bali that was also attended by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken.  Mr. Lavrov also blamed Washington for a breakdown in diplomacy.

Michael Flynn cited for unauthorized foreign payments  —  Retired general and former Trump adviser was notified by the Army that it was seeking to recoup nearly $40,000 from him  —  Listen  —  Gift Article  —  Michael Flynn, the retired Army general and onetime adviser to President Donald Trump …

Film offers inside look at Roger Stone's ‘Stop the Steal’ efforts before January 6  —  Footage shows key moments of planning with fellow activist Ali Alexander to overturn election results in Trump's favor  —  Weeks before the Capitol attack, top Republican political activists Roger Stone …

U.S. on Johnson's departure: ‘OK, bye.’  —  The so-called special relationship that binds the United States and the United Kingdom has survived wars, Donald Trump and Brexit.  —  It will survive the departure of Boris Johnson.  It might even improve.  —  And if his no-namecheck statement …

POLITICO Playbook: Schumer ups pressure on McConnell in USICA-reconciliation dance  —  With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  BREAKING OVERNIGHT — Former Japanese Prime Minister SHINZO ABE was shot and killed during a campaign speech Friday in western Japan.  He was 67.

Elon Musk's deal to buy Twitter is in peril  —  Talks with investors have cooled in recent weeks and Musk's camp believes it can't confirm Twitter's claims about spam accounts  —  Listen  —  Gift Article  —  Elon Musk's deal to buy Twitter is in serious jeopardy, three people familiar …

WWE's Vince McMahon Agreed to Pay $12 Million in Hush Money to Four Women  —  The longtime chief of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. secured nondisclosure agreements to keep secret allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity  —  Vince McMahon, WWE's longtime leader …

More Republicans now call Jan. 6 a ‘legitimate protest’ than a ‘riot’  —  Listen  —  Gift Article  —  When the dust settled on Jan. 6, 2021, we were unable to agree on whether Donald Trump had incited the insurrection.  But at least one conclusion crossed partisan lines: This had been a very bad and violent thing.

This couldn't happen anywhere: How coverage of the shooting failed Highland Park  —  Mass shootings are seemingly disparate, but almost all mass shooters are motivated by bigoted extremism that festers online  —  The first moments after finding out about a shooting in my hometown felt like living in slow motion.

Eric Swalwell is unfit for Congress and owes Lauren Boebert an apology  —  Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) has done many classless things during his time in Congress.  But this past week, he might have outdone himself with a tweet insinuating a connection between Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) …

No Special Treatment for Brittney Griner  —  WNBA player Brittney Griner on Thursday pleaded guilty in a Russian courtroom to possessing less than a gram of cannabis oil in her luggage when she landed at a Moscow airport in February.  —  It's a sad story, but Griner is hardly the political prisoner …

Wisconsin Supreme Court disallows absentee ballot drop boxes  —  MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin's conservative-controlled Supreme Court ruled Friday that absentee ballot drop boxes may be placed only in election offices and that no one other than the voter can return a ballot in person …

Governor Abbott Authorizes Texas National Guard, Texas Department Of Public Safety To Return Illegal Immigrants To Border  —  Governor Greg Abbott today issued an executive order authorizing and empowering the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety to apprehend illegal immigrants …

GOP populism is hurting the teaching profession  —  The real consequences of a manufactured crisis  —  We are living in a populist era that frames public officials as corrupt elites.  The effects of the ensuing hostility to the capacity of public institutions to function feels …

GOP race for Arizona governor becomes 2024 proxy war as Ducey defies Trump  —  In a last major test of Donald Trump's Republican power this year, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday endorsed a potential successor who's going up against a candidate backed by the former president.

Steve Bannon's lawyer asks to leave Jan. 6-related case, says he may be witness  —  A lawyer for Steve Bannon is seeking to withdraw from representing the adviser to former President Donald Trump in his criminal contempt case, citing the possibility of being called as a witness at trial, a court document on Friday showed.

EXCLUSIVE: 1st Amendment Praetorian Goes After Jan. 6 Committee For ‘McCarthy-esque’ Defamation Tactics  —  In short, the committee's treatment of 1AP ‘is a gross affront to the First Amendment.’  —  A lawyer for 1st Amendment Praetorian, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting free speech rights …

The FBI didn't finish over 1 million gun background checks in time to stop a sale in 2020 and 2021  —  There were over 1 million opportunities for someone to buy a gun from a licensed dealer without a completed background check in 2020 and 2021, according to an FBI report released last month.

How the Jan. 6 Panel Is Supercharging the Georgia Trump Investigation  —  The Jan. 6 Committee's public testimony could end up helping the Fulton County, Georgia, case against Donald Trump.  —  Thanks to Georgia's court system rules, the damning testimony of several former Trump administration officials …

Dallas Cowboys Face Criticism After Partnership With Black Rifle Coffee  —  The announcement drew criticism in part for its timing, a day after the deadly mass shooting in Highland Park, Ill.  — Give this article- - - Read in app  —  The Dallas Cowboys are facing criticism after announcing …

Biden-Harris Administration to make an additional 144,000 doses of JYNNEOS vaccine available to states and jurisdictions for monkeypox response  —  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced that it will make an additional 144,000 doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine available …

Pete goes Pure Michigan  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  With help from Allie Bice.  —  The shortest way home for PETE BUTTIGIEG now is a flight to Michigan.  —  The Transportation secretary …

The Glaring Contradiction of Republicans' Rhetoric of Freedom  —  Democratic governors are showing the national party how to challenge the red states' rollback of rights.  —  For decades Republicans have marketed themselves as the party of freedom.  During the 1990s and early 2000s …

NeverTrump Republicans Just Can't Let Go of Trump  —  Basking in progressive praise - while demonizing Trump supporters as a “cult.”  —  Bruce Thornton is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center.  —  The Congressional show-trial disguised as a House committee investigation …